The Supreme Court of India, on Wednesday, February 25, dismissed a petition seeking a ban on Hindi movie “Yadav Ji Ki Love Story,” which features a Hindu girl falling in love with a Muslim man.
The petition was filed by the chief of Vishwa Yadav Parishad, alleging that the movie title creates a direct and offensive stereotype of the Yadav community.
Rejecting the arguments, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan asked, “Is a Hindu girl marrying a Muslim boy destroying the national fabric?”
On the movie reflecting a bad light on the Yadav community, the bench said, “We fail to understand how the title of a film can reflect the community in a bad light. The title of the film nowhere has any adjective or any word that portrays the Yadav community in a bad light. The apprehensions are wholly unfounded.”
The top court distinguished the present case from a recent order passed in relation to a Netflix movie starring Manoj Bajpayee, “Ghooskhor Pandat.”
A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed alleging that the film’s title “Ghooskhor Pandit” (loosely translating to Pandit who takes bribes) and storyline promoted caste and religion-based stereotyping, thus hurting the sentiments of the Brahmin community. The court disposed of the plea after filmmaker Neeraj Pandey informed that the controversial title and all related promotional material had been withdrawn.
Observing its previous order, the bench said that the expression “ghooskhor” in English means corrupt. “A negative meaning was being attached to the community. But in the present case, no such negativity is attached to the Yadav community.”
“Have a thick skin. It is fiction. In one week, it will all be over. No one is going to the theatres these days. Everyone is watching on phones,” the bench responded while dismissing the petition.
Courts should reduce interference after CBFC’s nod
Justice Bhuyan observed that courts should reduce interference, or rather stay away, once a movie is given a green signal by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). “Films must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable viewer and not that of hypersensitive individuals,” he said.
He also noted that filmmakers are free to exercise freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 of the Constitution. “Artistic expression, including films and satire, plays an important role in democratic discourse and cannot be suppressed merely because certain groups object to it,” he said.
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